The registration application was developed by the state of Washington, Facebook and Microsoft

The state of Washington will be the first to offer a voter registration option on Facebook as soon as next week.

Washington state citizens will soon have the option to register to vote on Facebook via an application on the Secretary of State's Facebook page. The application was developed by the state of Washington, Facebook and Microsoft.

"In this age of social media and more people going online for services, this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered," said Shane Hamlin, co-director of elections.

Here's how it works: Washington residents go to the secretary of state's Facebook page and click on the registration application. They will agree to let Facebook access their information, and their name and date of birth will be added automatically to their registration form. Then, residents will have to provide a driver's license or state ID number.

In addition to registering to vote, Washington state citizens can obtain information on candidates to help them make voting-related decisions.

"We are excited that citizens in Washington state will be able to register to vote and review useful voting information on Facebook," said Andrew Noyes, Facebook spokesman.

For those worried about Facebook accessing private information for the voter registration form, it's been noted that Facebook doesn't have access to the state's database. The only information Facebook uses is your name and date of birth.

The Washington state voter registration form on Facebook is expected to launch next week.